Saturday 9 April 2011

In a Monastery Garden


Amongst my wide variety of friends there are those who have religious vocations ; They being members of the third order of Franciscans, whose local monastery was established in 1820 with the dictate to educate and feed the people. So on a recent visit, I was inspired to take photos of some of the unique features in their garden.


As many of you may know I am a druid and a pagan, this neither stops me nor them from enjoying each others' company and from having some interesting discussions on subjects which are not always common to our individual followings. That being the case we stretch our minds to seek a common understanding.


One commonality between us is our love of nature, plants, trees, animals, ancient sites and the night sky to name but a few.

The pictures which follow speak for themselves.




A stone circle with a difference



The centre stone of the circle has a hole in it, which means that it
might be described as a contract or marriage stone.
For in ancient times: each lover would put a hand through the
hole to make their marriage vows.



What strange creatures can you see
in this ancient tree?



Not a Sun Dial but a Moon Dial.


The face of the Moon dial, a device that was created
by one of the monks many years ago.



This large iron pot is believed to have been a cauldron
in which gruel or stew was cooked during the famine times.



A modern waterfall feature using
recycled wine bottles !

9 comments:

  1. Those are such lovely pictures, Heron. I love the word 'commonality' too. A common love of nature, plants, trees and all those things, despite different view points - is a wonderful binding agent!

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  2. The moon dial is facinating, and the large iron pot stirs so many emotions. Love the fun and useful element of the water feature. Beautiful pics Mel looks like a garden really worth a visit, to absorb on many levels. Le grá Mór AM

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  3. The moon dial is beautiful.It is good to appreciate the natural world and accomodate different beliefs as well.Looks a peaceful place too. The contract stone is intrigueing, the cauldren, moving and the bottle fountain facinating.

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  4. Lovely post, Mel. You always add something of the ancients in your posts and I really appreciate that. Thanks for visiting me on mine so soon. It's good to be back, and I shall be round to visit your blog as of old. I always gain a sense of peace and tranquility when I come here.

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  5. I see an impressive stag in that photo, but there again that's what I tend to see mostly... Christian monks carried forth many Celtic pagan traditions and practices and a monastic sort of a life appeals to most nature lovers. Chuck in a tad of Buddhism and that's my 'fusion' faith sort of a thing! I like the pics alot.

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  6. Interesting info and great photos. Good post :-)

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  7. What an interesting post, I did enjoy reading this.

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  8. I enlarged every photo and took a long look at each one. I am completely captivated when I visit your blog...as if I'm absolutely transported. What a peaceful respite!

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